Laying nest for poultry



May 6, 1958 Filed D c.

' J. w. WEBER 2,833,246

LAYING NEST F OR POULTRY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY May 6, 1958 J. W.WEBER 2,833,246

LAYING NEST FOR POULTRY Filed Dec. 8. 1954 l 2 sheets-sheet 2 Q C) 'C OC C Il@ III@ if l 0 o@ 0 O @om INVENTOR JAMES W. WEBER ATTORNEY Wt/Ww'iUnited States Pater-1t "O LAYING NEST FR PDULTRY James W. Weber,Tipton, Ind., assignor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, SanJose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware application December s, 1954,serial No. 413,840

12 claims. (ci. 11s-4s) The present invention pertains to egg layingnests for poultry.

One object of the present invention is to provide a laying nest fromwhich eggs may be conveniently gathered.

Another object is to provide a laying nest in which eggs are gentlyremoved to a protected space immediately after being laid.

Another object is to provide a laying nest whiehv isy automaticallyclosed while eggs are -being gathered therefrom.

Thesev and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a battery of poultry laying nests embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective of the battery of laying nests shownin Fig. l, certain structure thereof being shown in a diierent position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 3-3 or Fig. 1,certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the present batteryof laying nests. l

Fig. 5 isk an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the presentbattery of laying nests.

The present invention is here shown embodied in a battery of layingnests comprising a rectangular housing 11 (Fig. 1) having side walls 13and 15, a forwardly inclined top wall 17 and a bottom wallk (not shown).The battery is adapted to be hung on the wall of a poultry coop or thelike at a convenient distance above the ground, and for this purpose a.pair of spaced eyes 18 are provided` at the rear of the top wall 17. Thehousing 11 is divided into a plurality of open front nests 19 by aplurality of vertical sheet metal partitions 21 and horizontal screenfloors 23, said nests being arranged in two superposed horizontal rows25 and 27. The partitions 21 extend from the top to bottom of thehousing and are held in equally spaced parallel relation by upper andlower trim strips 29 and 31 which are bolted to the laterally turned,front flanges 33 of each partition and to similar anges 34 on the sidewalls 13 and 15.

The screen oors 23 of the nests 19 extend between the partitions 21, andbetween the sidewallsv13 and 15 and the partitions thereadjacent, saidfloors being sloped forward and downward to permiteggs, laid in thenests. to

roll immediately forward away from, the poultry. TheV doors 23 havetheir lateral margins bent down as shown at 35 (Fig. 3) and these bentmargins rest on tongues 37 projecting from the side walls 13 and 15jandthe partitions 21. The rear marginof the oors 23 is also bent down asshown at 39 (Fig. 3) Iand these rear margins rest on upturned tongues 41formed along theA 19 inthe upper and lower rows 25 and, 27,respectively.`

An extending portion 46 (Fig. 3)of,the forwardfmarg-in ing swingablymounted -on the brackets 73.

2,833,246 rammen 195.8

moved for cleaning purposes by swinging the door up-` wardly about therod 49 until the depending lateral and rear margins 35 and 39 cleartheir supporting tongues 37 and 41, then disengaging the hook 47 fromthe rod 49 and withdrawing the oor forwardly from the nest. Replacementof the floors 23 is accomplished by reversing the above procedure.

Each nest19 (Fig. 3) `has a downwardly and rearwardly sloped tread 55spaced above the forward portion of its floor 23. The treads 55 aid thepoultry in entering and leaving the nest, and provide compartments S7 inthe lower front portion of the nests into which eggs laid in the nestsmay roll for safe keeping and to permit them to cool. The treads 55 forthe nests in each of the rows 25 and 27 are provided in single pieces ofsheet met-al 59, each piece having a continuous flange 61 at its forwardedge bolted to the laterally turned anges 33 of the partitions 21.Directly below the point of attachment of the flanges 61 to thepartitions 21, said partitions are cut out to provide passages 63 forcommunication between the compartments 57 of adjacent nests 19. Thetread pieces 59 extend through the upper portion of the passages 63 andare appropriately slotted at their rear edge to receive the partitions21, as shown at 65 in Figure 3. The rear edge of each tread piece 59 isprovided witha -plurality of spaced eyes 67 through which extends a rod69 that mates with horizontally aligned holes (not shown) in thepartitions 21 and the side walls l13 and 15, thus rigidly supporting thetread piece 59 -at its rear edge.

The ends of rods 49, 49 and 69, 69 (Fig. 1) which help support thescreen floors 23 and the tread pieces 59, respectively, extend laterallybeyond the side walls 13 and 15, and in conjunction with nut and boltassemblies 71 they support a pair of horizontally spaced brackets 73 foreach row of nests. The extending ends of therods 49, 49 and 69, 69 arethreaded, and they receive nuts 75 (Fig. 4) which hold the rods in placeand securely fasten the brackets 73 to the side walls 13 and 15. Thebrackets 73 havera trapezium-shaped portion 77 (Fig. 2) that is otrsetlaterally outward from the rest of the bracket to provide a space 79(Fig. 5) between the bracket and its.

` trapezium-shaped portion 77 extends forwardly beyond the front edge ofthe side walls 13 and 15 to form a nose 87.

`Perches 89 and 91 (Fig. 1) are provided for the nests 19 in the rows'25andl 27, respectively, said perches be- The perches 89 and 91 comprisecross bars 93 having support angles 95 fastened at right angles thereto.The angles 95 are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on theinside of the bracket noses 87 by rivets 97 (Fig. 3), and the laterallyextending, leg 99 (Fig. 5) of the angles is cut away at its rear end, asshown at 101 (Fig. 5), to enable the rear of the angles to be `receivedin the spaces 79, between the brackets 73 and the side walls. When theperches 89 and 91 are in their normal lowered position the reduced rearportion 101 of their support angles 95 bears against the underside ofthe bracket web thereby holding the perches in a horizontal plane and inposition to assist poultryrin entering and leavingthenests. The

perchesf89and 91:v are operatively connected by linksl; i ,(Eig... 1)so'thatY raisin-gef one,V perch will .-alsoraise; the;

other. perch and bring the cross bars 93 of the perches up in front ofthe nests 19, thereby preventing poultry from entering or leaving thenests.

AThe perches 89 and 91 are operatively interconnectedl by means of links105 (Fig. 2) with elongated doors outwardly to form a concave surfaceextending from the rods 49, andthey are provided with nturned side andouter end flanges 113 and 115 (Fig- 4).v The interconnecting links 105are pivotally connected to the side anges 113 of the doors, and to therear portion 101 of the ,support angles 95, as best seen in Fig.` 4. Thearrangement of the doors 107 and 109, the perches 89 and 91, and theirinterconnecting links 105 is such that when the perches are in theirlowered position the doors 107 and 109 are closed and the links 105 andreduced portion 101 of the angles 95 are withdrawn into the brackets73,as seen in Figs. l and 3, thereby providingv a battery of nests havingrelatively flush exterior surfaces.

When the perches 89 and 91 are raised the doors 107.

and 109 are open, as shown `in Figs. 4 and 5, and they project forwardlyso that eggs in the compartments 57 may roll forward onto them for easycollection.

ln use, the present battery of laying nests is fastened to the wall of apoultry coop or the like at a distance and downwardly sloping tioors 23of the nests 19, thev eggs promptly roll forwardly into the compartment57.

The eggs are gently brought to restnear the front of the compartments 57by contact with the inwardly concave inner portion 121 (Fig. 3) of theclosed compartment doors 107, 109 which gradually reduces the momentumof the forwardly rolling eggs so that theyfdo not come to rest with asharp impact which might break them. It is to be noted `that thepassages 63 provided in the front of partitions 21 permit eggs enteringone of the compartments 57 to be detiected into the adjoiningcompartments in the event that a crowded condition exists in thecompartment of the nest in which they were laid. As will be readilyapparent from the above,Y eggs which roll into the compartments 57 areremoved from contact with poultry in the nest, and thus may begin tocool immediately after they have been laid. Furthermore, in thecompartment 51 the eggs are protected from breakage due to movement ofthe poultry in the nest and are also protected from contact withdroppings and the like, thereby keeping the eggs as clean as possible.`

When it is desired to collect the eggs that have jbeen laid in thebattery, the poultryman raises the perches 89 and 91, thereby yclosingthe nests 19, as shown in Fig. 2, and preventing the poultry fromentering `or leavingthe same. As the perches 89 and 91 are raised, thedoors 107 and 109 operatively connected therewith are caused toswingdownwardly and outwardly from their e'gg' arresting position into agenerally horizontal egg supporting or retaining position, as shown inIFig. 4. This movement of the doors 107, 109 permits the eggs in thecompartments 57 to slowly and gently roll forwardly onto the innerconcave portion 121 of the doors, as shown in Figures `2 and 4, wherethey are readily accessible for gathering Aby the poultryman. When allof the eggs have been gathered, the poultryman releases the perches 89and 91 and they automatically return, due to the weight of the perches,to their normal horizontally extending position, thereby reopening thenests 19 for entry or exit of poultry and closing the egg compartmentdoors 107 and 109 to again condition the compartments 57 for the gentlereception of newly laid eggs.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the present invention,it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be madein the details thereof without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thusdescribed the invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

l. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having a substantiallyuniplanar front, a sloping lioor having a tixed position in the housingto enable eggs deposited by poultry on the tioor to roll downwardly awayfrom their point `of deposit, and an egg abutment means attached to saidhousing, said abutment means being curved up-V wardly and outwardly fromits point of attachment adjacent the lower portion of the floor intotiush relation `with saidfront to contact eggs rolling on the floor and-tween a position closing a lower portion of said open front to gentlyarrest eggs rolling on said oor and a position opening said portion toretain eggs thereon for ready access, blocking meansV on said housingbeing movable to selectively block or open the upper portion of saidopen front, and a link interconnecting said blocking means and said doorwhereby when said blocking means is moved into blocking position saiddoor is moved from a position closing the lower portion of said openfront and egg arrestingposition to open position to retain eggs forready access.

3. A laying nest for poultry comprising ahousing having an open frontdefining an entrance portion of said housing, a downwardly and forwardlysloping floor for the housing having a lower end disposed adjacent saidopen front to enable eggs deposited by poultry on the floor to rollforwardly, and an inwardly concave door swingably mounted at the lowerend of said lioor for movement between a closed position in which eggsrolling forwardly on the iloor` and against said inwardly concave doorare gently brought to rest and an open position in which eggs resting atthe lower end of said floor are permitted to roll gently forward ontosaid door.

4. A laying lnest for poultry comprising a housing, a sloping oor forthe housing to enable eggs deposited by poultry on the floor torolldownwardly away from their point of deposit,` said tioor having anupper and a lower end, `and means defining an egg protecting tcompartment within the contines of said housing at the lower end of thefloor for receiving eggs deposited on the oor'and rolling downwardlythereover, said cornpartment means including an egg arresting andretaining door pivotally mounted on the lower end of said tioor definingan extension thereof and having a conof the door to form with the tloorand the door an egg receiving and protecting compartment within theconnes of said nest housing, said door being arranged when open toproject outwardly beyond the front surface of said housing to retaineggs on said concave surface for easy collection therefrom.

6. A nest structure for poultry comprising an open front housing havinga flush front surface, a downwardly and forwardly sloping floor for thehousing to enable eggs laid on the oor to roll forward, an egg abutmentdoor pivotally mounted adjacent the forward partionof the oor anddisposed within the confines of said housing to prevent eggs fromrolling forwardly oi the oor, an inclined tread in the housing spacedabove said oor and disposed adjacent said door, and substantiallyupright partitions in the housing dividing the same into nests, each ofsaid partitions having a recess therein disposed entirely within thehush front surface of the housing and below said tread for receivingsaid door and cooperating with said tread and said floor to define apassage through which eggs may pass so that eggs laid in one nest mayroll into the adjacent nest.

7. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having an entrance inone side, a oor for the housing, means providing an egg compartment insaid housing below said entrance and above said floor, said compartmenthaving an open front below said entrance in said entrance side, eggabutment and retaining means mounted on the housing and being movablebetween egg arresting position and egg supporting position, a perchmounted on said housing and being' movable into and out of entranceclosing position, and linkage means interconnecting said perch and saiddoor and operable to move said door into compartment-closed and eggabutting position upon movement of said perch into entrance-openposition.

8. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having a substantiallyuniplanar front, a forwardly and downwardly inclined oor in the housing,means defining an egg compartment having an open front and disposedwithin said housing at the lower end of said oor, said means including adoor swingably mounted on the housing and adapted to be disposed in ushrelation with said housing front while closing the open front of saidegg compartment, and an actuating member connected to said housing andinterconnected with said door for opening and closing the door.

9. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having an open frontand a forwardly and downwardly inclined laying oor, a door of inwardlyconcave configuration adapted to close the front portion of the housingdirectly above the oor and swingably mounted on the housing at theforward margin of the floor, said door having two operational positions,a perch swingably mounted on the housing for movement between loweredand raised positions, and a link operatively interconnecting the perchand the door, said link being so constructed and arranged that the dooris closed to form an egg abutment surface to arrest eggs rolling on theoor when the perch is in its lowered position and open to retain eggsthereon when the perch is swung to its raised position.

10. In a laying nest for poultry, a housing having an open front, saidfront being substantially ush, a forwardly and downwardly inclined oorextending from the rear of said housing to a point short of said ushfront, a tread at the front of the housing, said tread being spacedabove the housing oor to form therewith an egg receiving compartmentrecessed within the confines of said housing maintaining said front ush,a door of inwardly concave configuration swingably mounted at the frontof the housing to open and close the forward portion of the eggreceiving compartment immediately above the lower edge of said floor,said door having two operational positions, a perch at the front of thehousing swingably mounted for movement between a lowered position and araised position wherein it lies across the open front of said housing,and a link operatively interconnecting said perch and said door, saidlink being so constructed and arranged that it opens the door to retaineggs thereon when the perch is swung to its raised position and closesthe door to form an egg abutment surface when the perch is swung to itslowered position.

l l. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having oppositelydisposed side walls defining a front opening, an inclined nest Hoor inthe housing, a door hinged to the forward edge of the oor to close theopening, a laterally offset bracket on each side wall at opposite sidesof the nest, said brackets each providing a horizontal web and aforwardly projecting nose, a perch structure having transverselyextending support angles projecting from one side, said perch structureangles being pivotally supported intermediate their ends on theprojecting noses of the opposite laterally offset brackets for movementfrom a substantially horizontal position with the free ends of theangles in engagement with said webs to a substantially verticalposition, and a link having one end pivotally attached adjacent the freeend of each of said perch structure angles and the other end to theopposite sides of said door adjacent its outer end whereby when the freeends of the perch angles contact the horizontal webs of said bracketssaid door is held in position to close said opening and when the anglesof said perch structure are substantially vertical said door is held inopen position.

12. A laying nest for poultry comprising a housing having an opening ina front wall, a sloping iloor having a lower end disposed Within thehousing terminating adjacent said opening and arranged to direct eggsdeposited on said floor to roll downwardly thereon toward said opening,a door movably'mounted on said housing at the lower end of the oor toclose the lower portion of said opening and retain eggs on said ooradjacent said opening, and entrance blocking means pivoted on saidhousing for movement into and out of position to block the upper portionof said opening, said blocking means being interconnected with said doorfor movement of said door into a position to open said lower portion ofsaid opening when said blocking means is moved into opening-blockingposition.

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